Statements on the Meeting with Various Segments of the People on the 47th Anniversary of the Victory of the Islamic Revolution

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Remaining One of God on the earth.

I extend my warm welcome to all dear brothers and sisters who have blessed this Hussainiyah with their warm presence today. I will make a brief remark regarding the twelfth of Bahman, which is an important day; I will also say a few words about the recent turmoil of the past week — an explanation of what this phenomenon was, what event occurred — and I will briefly address America. These are the points I have noted to share with my dear brothers and sisters.

Regarding the twelfth of Bahman. The twelfth of Bahman is truly an exceptional day. Throughout the year, there are days that you know an event occurred on this day, it is an important day, a great day; these days are recorded in history as an incident, as a significant matter; however, some days are observed as being beyond prominence and beyond historical significance; these are days that shape history; the event that occurred on that day has actually changed and redirected the course of history; the twelfth of Bahman is one of those days.

Imam came to Tehran in the face of threats; in the face of threats! You young people have not seen those days. There was the threat of America, the threat of the regime, the threat of terrorists; later it became clear what plans they had for the arrival of the Imam. In the midst of these threats, Imam courageously and powerfully entered Tehran; he arrived in Tehran, and the nation warmly welcomed him. The reception that Imam received on the twelfth of Bahman, as far as we know, has no precedent in history and in our time when populations have increased, and facilities have expanded; this extraordinary reception of the Imam occurred!

Well, a leadership, a great figure, an Imam entered society, and society embraced him, which was a significant event; however, Imam did not allow this unprecedented reception to remain merely ceremonial. Such events sometimes are just ceremonial; they come to pay respect to someone, then they disperse; he leaves, and they leave. Imam did not allow this great event to be held ceremonially; from the very first hour, he began to work.

Firstly, the first action that Imam took was to announce the overthrow of the [monarchical] regime on the very day of his arrival. Imam spoke at Behesht Zahra in front of a million-strong crowd and announced the overthrow of the monarchical regime — which they claimed had thousands of years of history — and its transformation into a new and modern system with important and prominent characteristics. Well, this new system that Imam heralded upon entering Tehran on the twelfth of Bahman had multiple characteristics, some of which I may refer to; however, according to what Imam stated, there are two fundamental and foundational characteristics, two important characteristics in this system:

One is that it transforms individual and despotic rule into popular governance; this is very important. The people in the country were powerless; even ministers and governments were powerless; everything, everything was cooked and executed in one assembly, in one court. This [government] transformed into a popular government; that is, the people should express their opinions, choose, and have authority.

The second characteristic was the transformation of the anti-religious process prevailing in the country into an Islamic and religious process. If someone reads the memoirs of the figures of the Pahlavi era — which were written later or at that time — they see, they understand that they were steering Iran towards a completely anti-religious assembly; they were making a movement in which there would be no sign of Islam, of religion, and of the Quran; the country was gradually moving in this direction.

Imam changed the course 180 degrees — of course, the country cannot be made entirely compliant with religion all at once — the movement became a religious movement and gradually moved towards religion. If we — we officials — had acted correctly in our duties, that event would have occurred by now; that is, the country would have truly become religious. Truly, we — some governments, some officials, some who could have done something — fell short; there were things we should have done that we did not do; there were things we should not have done that we did; but still, in any case, the movement was the same movement that Imam established; that is, we progressed in this religious and Islamic process.

[Of course] another characteristic that this new governance had and was mentioned in Imam's statements, and among these characteristics that Imam mentioned was very important and unsettled global arrogance, was the severing of America's hand from Iran. Imam, in his statements from the beginning, announced the cessation of American influence and interference in Iran, which I will address in a few sentences at the end of my talk. This was also a characteristic that unsettled the Americans. What unsettled them the most from the very first hour, what upset them, compelled them to strive, and led them to enmity was the announcement that influence and interference in our country is forbidden; the country belongs to the Iranian nation, and they and their representatives must decide.

Regarding the popular nature of the revolution and the popular nature of the government — which we said was this characteristic [of the Islamic system] — what Imam did was to familiarize the people, the Iranian nation, with their own capabilities, with their own values. Imam had an effective expression; his words resonated in hearts. Imam made the Iranian nation fully aware of what great capabilities they possess. This phrase "we can" is very important. Those of us who lived before the revolution, even those of us who were involved in the struggle, truly believed that Iranians could not do anything! "We cannot" dominated all people's thoughts; Imam came and overturned this, declaring "we can." He acquainted them with their values, he acquainted them with their capabilities. Our nation had turned into a humiliated nation during the Pahlavi and Qajar eras. The Iranian nation, with that history, with that civilization, with those scholars, with those vast and great libraries, from the early Qajar period to the entire Pahlavi era had turned into a humiliated nation, a backward nation; we were backward in science, we were backward in technology, we were backward in politics; Iran had no influence in regional policies, let alone global policies!

Once, I recounted a story here that after World War I, countries of the world were invited to come to Paris to make decisions regarding international issues; a large delegation from Iran went to Paris to participate in that conference; they were not allowed in! The Iranian delegation waited behind the door, days passed, they were not allowed to enter this session. They had brought the magnificent Iran, the civilized Iran, which once was the source of knowledge and philosophy and everything in the world, and everyone used to benefit from it, to this point; this humiliated, this small! In science, in technology, in politics, in lifestyle, in international credibility, in regional decisions, in all these areas, the Iranian nation was backward and humiliated during the Pahlavi and Qajar eras; not a single invention, not a significant work, not a prominent movement.

"Imam" made the nation sensitive to this backwardness so that the nation would feel, "Why should we be backward? Why should we not produce ourselves, not create ourselves, not present ourselves, not have a voice in the world? Why?" Imam made the nation sensitive; he revived the sense of capability in the Iranian nation; Imam the Great instilled self-confidence in the nation; the Iranian nation has self-confidence. Now you no longer feel weak in relation to a certain European nation, even the American nation; you feel you can, you do; and you have done! In these forty-plus years, great works have been accomplished in this country that even the thought of which could not have been entertained before, but it has been done. Even now, it is the same. Of course, they conceal it; our propaganda is also weak. Now there are thousands of companies related to these young people that have started working; important devices, great works. These students that some of the agencies took and showed some of these industrial works in various parts of the country — not just in Tehran — were astonished, they could not believe it! Who would have believed that one day Iran would produce a weapon that America would imitate? Did anyone think of that? But this happened, this event occurred. Imam instilled this spirit of self-confidence in the people, the spirit of hope, the spirit of ambition in them.

Imam himself was also a manifestation of this hope; he was a manifestation of this hope. There was absolutely no problem in front of him. [He said:] Khorramshahr must be liberated! Now we were there, Khorramshahr, which was surrounded by armies from all sides; "Khorramshahr must be liberated"; one word! That means he was confident that this task was achievable. He said, the youth [also] endeavored, and it happened. He himself was a manifestation of this hope and directed the people towards this hope. Today, if these whispers of the wicked devils — truly wicked — [are absent], it is the same; some from within, some from outside who constantly whisper that the Iranian youth has no hope, has no future, and so on; yes, to your dismay, they have hope, they have a future, they are building the future, and they are moving forward.

The twenty-second of Bahman was brought about by the twelfth of Bahman. The grandeur of the twenty-second of Bahman was brought about by the twelfth of Bahman. If there had been no twelfth of Bahman, if there had been no arrival of the Imam, if there had been no great popular reception, the twenty-second of Bahman would not have occurred. The day of the Islamic Republic, which is the twelfth of Farvardin, was brought about by the twelfth of Bahman; the advancements of this country were brought about by the twelfth of Bahman. It is an important day, it is a history-making day. The twelfth of Bahman, which is today, is truly a history-making day; let us not forget this. By the grace of the mercy that God Almighty bestowed upon Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), this was accomplished, and thanks be to God, it continues to this day. Of course, the twelfth of Bahman had these blessings, it also had the enmity of America. The enmity of America became more evident from that day of the twelfth of Bahman, it was shown and stated. This too, I will say a few words about later. This is regarding the twelfth of Bahman.

Now about the recent turmoil; this turmoil that occurred on the eighteenth and nineteenth of Dey. Firstly, my expression is that this turmoil was American and Zionist. I previously stated in another session, those who came to create chaos were of two categories, two types of people: one type were the leaders, and the other type were the foot soldiers and "the riffraff." The leaders had been trained; they had received money, they had been trained, they had been taught how to move, how to attack, where to attack, how to gather the youth, how to speak with them; all of this had been taught to the leaders. Many of those leaders got caught, were arrested, and confessed to these things. A number were also impulsive youths who made noise and came; we do not have much problem with them. The turmoil was an American turmoil; the plan was an American plan. Not only America, but the Zionist regime was also involved. When I say "America," it is not just a claim; we have not received this through complex and intricate secret intelligence methods. Of course, we have information about many of the details, but what makes it clear that this movement was an American movement is the statements of that President of the United States; firstly, he explicitly addressed these rioters as "the people of Iran"! Now on the twenty-second of Dey, millions of people gathered in Tehran and in the provinces, they were not the people of Iran, but these few thousand were the people of Iran! He called them "the people of Iran," then he said, "Go ahead, go ahead, I am coming!" Therefore, the turmoil was an American turmoil.

Keep in mind that this turmoil was not the first turmoil that occurred in Tehran, nor will it be the last; we will have such incidents after this as well. It was not the first turmoil, nor will it be the last; we may have such incidents after this. After all, we are a country, we have a new thought, we have a new path, we are in friction with the world's bullies, we are in confrontation; we must always be prepared. And now, how long will these continue? Until the time that the Iranian nation reaches a point where its stability, resilience, and control over affairs will discourage the enemy; we must reach this point, and we will.

Before this turmoil, these streets of Tehran witnessed atrocities, witnessed events; on the thirtieth of Khordad in 60, the Mojahedin attacked the Basijis in these very streets of Tehran with carpet knives! We have seen many of these incidents; this was not the first, nor will it be the last. One observes the hand of foreigners in all these events; and specifically in these events, one observes the hand of America, the hand of the Zionist regime.

Of course, in this recent turmoil and before this in other events, the officials — the law enforcement officials, the Basij, the IRGC, and others who had responsibilities — acted fully in accordance with their responsibilities, but what extinguished the fire of the turmoil under their feet was "the people"; it was like this this time, it was like this in 88, and it was like this in other instances. When the people enter the field and decide, they extinguish the fires, they turn the flames to ashes. This was the event that occurred this time as well; after this, by God's grace, if an incident occurs for the country, God Almighty will inspire these people to confront the events, and the people will complete the work.

Well, there were several characteristics in this turmoil that I would like to mention two or three of these characteristics:

One is that the rioters hid behind the peaceful protests of the market people; this was one of the characteristics. That is, they effectively used the market people as their shield; like some criminal individuals in some cities, in some parts of the world, who when faced with invading forces, place children and women in front of them, hiding behind them. The rioters hid behind the market people. The market people had protests; they had come to the streets, some had closed their shops — I mentioned in a previous session like this one that their words were also logical and correct — they hid behind them so that they would not be recognized; however, the market people were smart, they understood the matter; as soon as they saw [this movement] was riotous, as soon as they saw they were attacking the police station instead of moving peacefully in the street, they realized that this was riotous, they separated themselves, stepped aside, and left them alone.

Another characteristic is that this turmoil resembled a coup; that is, some in the world referred to this turmoil that occurred as a coup; they said a coup occurred in Iran that was suppressed, but it was a coup. What does it mean it was a coup? It means the aim was to destroy sensitive and effective centers in the administration of the country. They attacked the police, they attacked the IRGC centers, they attacked some government centers, they attacked the banks; this was from a material perspective; they attacked mosques, they attacked the Quran; this was also from a spiritual perspective. What administers the country are these; they attacked these. This was a coup.

Another point regarding this turmoil that is good to pay attention to is that the plan and design of this turmoil occurred outside, it was not related to the inside. Yes, a number of internal individuals initiated this turmoil and chaos, but the plan was drawn up outside. Orders were given from outside, that is, these leaders had contact with the outside, of course, these leaders; the leaders had contact with the outside, they were told now do this, now attack this place, now go to this street; these things were told to them from outside and using satellite facilities and such, they obtained information and guided them.

I learned through a certain channel that an influential American element in the government told his Iranian counterpart that in this recent incident that occurred in Iran, the CIA and the Mossad of the Zionist regime brought all their resources to the scene! An American admitted this, saying two active and credible intelligence agencies, namely the CIA and Mossad, brought all their resources to the field and yet they were defeated. The plan was drawn up outside, it was managed from outside, and orders were given.

One of the other characteristics of this turmoil was that these trained leaders were obliged to create casualties, to produce deaths. They had no special enmity with some individuals, but deaths had to be produced. Therefore, they attacked military and law enforcement centers with armed attacks, using advanced personal weapons, so that a reaction would be shown from the other side and some would be killed. They did not stop at this; they even shot at the very foot soldiers they had brought to the field through propaganda from behind! I was informed that some of the injured in the incident were attacked from behind; that is, they did not even spare their own individuals; why? To increase the number of casualties. Unfortunately, they succeeded. Of course, the enemy wanted more casualties than this; it has not reached the number they wanted; however, they claim. Well, it is not surprising for such lies; they introduce the number of casualties ten times and more than ten times.

The enemy's goal was to disrupt the security of the country; [that is] to disrupt the security of the country in the first degree. When there is no security, there is nothing. When there is no security, there is no production, there is no bread, there is no study and discussion, there is no school, there is no research, there is no science, there is no progress; all of these come into being in the shadow of security. Those who preserved the security of the country have a right to life over us, over all the people. If our child can go to school in the street, it is because of security; if there is no security, your child cannot even go to school; you cannot even go to your shop, you cannot go to your workplace; that young person who is engaged in research and studies cannot conduct research. They wanted to set the people against the system; fortunately, the people dealt a blow to them, and on the twenty-second of Dey, millions came out, showed themselves, and shouted against the rioters. Officials must appreciate these people; truly, the officials of the country must appreciate these people.

Of course, I should also mention that this turmoil — whether it was coincidental or calculated; I cannot claim this — occurred at a time when the officials of the country, the government officials, the President, and others were in the process of designing an economic package for the country. They were designing the economic plan of the country, taking action, and working to improve the situation; at this time, they created this turmoil. Now whether it was coincidental or calculated, I cannot claim this.

Another characteristic of this turmoil was violence; like ISIS. Who created ISIS? This current President of America in his first election explicitly said that we created ISIS, the Americans created it, the Secretary of State of America created it. That Secretary of State, who was a woman, also said and wrote in her memoirs that we created ISIS to seize Iraq and Syria.

These too created another ISIS; this is another ISIS, and its actions are like those of the former. The other day, I mentioned that ISIS annihilated individuals, eliminated them under the pretext of being non-religious, and these eliminate individuals for being religious; the only difference is this, otherwise, it is the same army. These also burned people alive! See how much cruelty it requires, how much ruthlessness it requires to burn a living person! They burned, they destroyed, they beheaded! They also committed the same acts that ISIS did. Violence was one of their characteristics.

Well, now that you have raised this slogan and mentioned America, let us also enter the discussion about America. My last statement regarding America is: What is the issue between America and Iran? In this confrontation that has existed for over forty years, what is the issue? In my opinion, the issue can be summarized in two words; those two words are that America wants to swallow Iran, and the resilient nation of Iran and the Islamic Republic is the obstacle. He said, I went to propose, everything is settled, the matter remains in two words: I say we want your daughter, they say you are mistaken! Now the Iranian nation has told the opposite side you are mistaken; that is the crime of the Iranian nation; this is the dispute.

Your Iran, the country of yours, has many attractions: Iran's oil is attractive, Iran's gas is attractive, Iran's rich mines are attractive, Iran's strategic and geographical position is attractive; there are many other characteristics. Iran is a country that a greedy, aggressive power naturally covets; Iran is such a country. Well, they want to seize this country, just as they previously seized it. For about thirty years, the Americans were in Iran, they had the resources, they had the oil, they had the politics, they had the security, they had the communications with the world, everything was in their hands; for thirty years, they did whatever they wanted; [now] their hands have been cut off, they want to return to the same situation as during the Pahlavi era, and the Iranian nation stands firm, chest out, and is the obstacle. The enmity is because of this, the dispute is over this. The rest of the talk [like] human rights and such are empty words they utter; the issue is this issue. He is greedy, Iran stands firm, and will continue to stand firm, and God willing, will discourage the other side from their malice and harassment.

This talk of war that you sometimes hear, that we will come with such and such planes and do this, is not new; in the past, the Americans have repeatedly threatened in their statements that "all options are on the table." "All options" means including the option of war; they have always said this: "all options are on the table." Now this gentleman also claims that yes, we brought a fleet and did such things! In my opinion, the Iranian nation should not be frightened by these things; the Iranian nation is not influenced by these words and does not fear confronting the truth. We are not the initiators, we do not want to oppress anyone, we do not want to attack any country, but to anyone who has greed, who wants to attack and harass, the Iranian nation will deliver a strong blow. Of course, let the Americans know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.